It’s Alberta Forest Week: Here’s how to celebrate

Alberta Forest Week is celebrated annually during the first week of May.

Did you know that about 60 per cent of the province – that’s roughly 87 million acres, is forested? That amount of forested land is larger than the entire country of Japan or Germany.

The province boasts whether Albertans live near our forests, work in them, camp or photograph them that they are on Crown land. Meaning, they belong to Albertans.

“A working forest is a healthy forest. Alberta has world-class sustainable forest management practices that regenerate forests, defend against the mountain pine beetle, provide jobs and economic opportunities, and protect communities within our forests. Foresters replant millions of trees every year and intelligently reduce wildfire risk with sustainable harvesting. These measures ensure our forests will be healthy and safe for generations to come,” said Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Alberta Forest Week is a chance to celebrate the clean, healthy forests, educate the public on how the province properly manage invasive pests that attack our forests and highlight actions that prevent and mitigate wildfires.

The Forest management plans (FMP) is a tool the province uses to manage this public resource. When an RMP is created, companies are planning 200 years into the future. Any plans must consider critical habitat, watershed health and function, recreational opportunities and traditional use, etc.

Forestry businesses also create jobs in rural communities. Considered Alberta’s third largest resource sector in 2018, the forest sector supported 946 small businesses and 58 mid-seized and large businesses and provided jobs for roughly 19,000 people across the province.